Calibrachoa sp. cultivar KLEC00072.
The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Calibrachoa plant, botanically known as Calibrachoa sp., and hereinafter referred to by the name xe2x80x98KLEC00072xe2x80x99.
The new Calibrachoa is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Stuttgart, Germany. The objective of the program is to create new early-flowering Calibrachoa cultivars with cascading and freely branching growth habit and attractive flower colors.
The new Calibrachoa originated from a cross made by the Inventor during the summer of 1998 of a proprietary selection of Calibrachoa identified as code number R 4, not patented, as the female, or seed, parent with a proprietary selection of Calibrachoa identified as code number J 65, not patented, as the male, or pollen, parent. The new Calibrachoa was selected by the Inventor in May, 1999 in a controlled environment in Struttgart, Germany, on the basis of its arching and somewhat cascading plant habit and large red purple-colored flowers.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by terminal cuttings taken in a controlled environment in Stuttgart, Germany since June, 1999, has shown that the unique features of this new Calibrachoa are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.
Plants of the cultivar KLEC00072 have not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environment such as temperature, light intensity, daylength, water status and fertility level without, however, any variance in genotype.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of xe2x80x98KLEC00072xe2x80x99. These characteristics in combination distinguish xe2x80x98KLEC00072xe2x80x99 as a new and distinct cultivar of Calibrachoa:
1. Arching and somewhat cascading plant habit.
2. Freely branching habit.
3. Early and freely flowering habit.
4. Relatively large red purple-colored flowers.
5. Good weather tolerance; tolerant to rain and low and high temperatures.
Plants of the new Calibrachoa differed primarily from plants of the female parent selection, R 4, in flower color as flower color of plants of the new Calibrachoa is red purple whereas flower color of plants of the female parent selection is dark red. In addition, plants of the new Calibrachoa are more freely flowering than plants of the female selection. Plants of the new Calibrachoa differ primarily from plants of the male parent selection, J 65, in flower size as plants of the new Calibrachoa have larger flowers than plants of the male parent selection. In addition, plants of the new Calibrachoa have a more upright plant habit than plants of the male selection.
Plants of the new cultivar are similar in flower color to plants of the Calibrachoa cultivar KLEC00073, not patented. However, in side-by-side comparisons conducted by the Inventor in Stuttgart, Germany, plants of the new Calibrachoa differ from plants of the cultivar KLEC00073 in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new Calibrachoa are more erect and taller than plants of the KLEC00073.
2. Plants of the new Calibrachoa have larger flowers than plants of the KLEC00073.